ougdas      airban&s 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 


A  modern  Musketeer 


MAKING  LIFE 
WORTH  WHILE 


By 

DOUGLAS  FAIRBANKS 


Author  of  "Laugh  and  Live 


New  York 
BRITTON  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1918,  by 
Britton  Publishing  Company 


Theater  Arts 

Library 

f  /5c2ni 

. 

CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

PAGE 

I 

Little  Grains  of  Sand    . 

13 

II 

As  the  Twig  Is  Bent    .     . 

23 

III 

The  New  Order  of  Living 

31 

IV 

Feeding  the  Intellect    . 

41 

V 

Backing  Up  the  Flag    . 

49 

VI 

Half-Baked    Knowledge 

57 

VII 

Harnessing  the  Brain    . 

65 

VIII 

Exalting  the  Ego    .    .    . 

73 

IX 

Genius  Plus  Initiative    . 

81 

X 

The  Big  Four    .... 

87 

XI 

Applying    the    Rule    of 

95 

XII 

Through  Difficulties  to 

109 

XIII 

In     Answer     to     Many 

115 

CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIV    Things      That      Money 

Won't  Buy 127 

XV    The  Boy  Across  the  Sea  133 
XVI     Superior — Superiority — 

Super 139 

XVII    When    the    Boys    Come 

Home        147 

XVIII    Regeneration       ....  153 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  Modern  Musketeer — (Frontis) 

and  his  brother  John 

Teaching  his  dog  to  smile 

"And  her  name  is  Maud" 

A  pointed  argument 

"Smile  when  you  say  it" 

Companions 

"What  ho !"  says  the  King.    "Ho,  hum !"  re- 
plied his  guest 

Tweedle-dee — Tweedle-dum 

Where  once  one  equals  two 

A  quick  getaway 

A  rattling  good  story 

A  one-minute  reverie 

A  studio  confab 

Alone  with  the  Grand  Canyon 

"In  tune  with  the  Infinite" 

Decorations  by  Harold  A.  Van  Bur  en 


AUTHORS  FOREWORD 

In  Laugh  and  Live,  my  sole  purpose  was 
to  emphasize  our  first  duty  toward  ourselves, 
which  consists  of  doing  our  level  best  at 
everything  we  undertake,  and  making  the  best 
of  every  situation  that  arises  to  confront  us. 

All  through  my  early  life  I  read  inspira- 
tional books  and  liked  them  best  of  all.  They 
seemed  to  beckon  me  on.  I  could  feel  myself 
being  pulled  along  by  an  unseen  hand. 

Let  there  be  no  mistake  about  Making 
Life  Worth  While.  It  has  no  particular 
plan  or  sequence  whereby  to  back  up  its 
title.  Nearly  everything  has  to  do  with  such 
a  subject  and  that  is  what  the  book  contains 
— everything  in  general — and  nothing  in 
particular — just  such  things  as  came  to  mind 
that  seemed  worth  while. 

As  a  follow  up  to  Laugh  and  Live  here's 
hoping  that  it  will  fill  the  bill. 

D.F. 


LITTLE  GRAINS  OF  SAND 


CHAPTER  I 

LITTLE   GRAINS   OF   SAND 

Holding  down  a  seat  in  the  rocking  chair 
fleet  out  on  the  shady  piazza  is  most  certainly 
not  making  the  most  out  of  life. 

We  all  remember  the  line — "If  wishes 
were  fishes  we'd  have  some  fried."  That  is 
the  answer  to  those  who  rock  and  dream,  and 
hope  for  something  to  turn  up  instead  of 
turning  up  something  on  their  own  account. 

Of  course,  there  is  a  time  for  everything, 
even  the  stealthy,  creeping  rocking  chair — 
and  that's  about  bedtime.  In  the  estimation 
of  an  eminent  neurologist  there  is  no  crime 
against  nature  in  the  home  that  cannot  be 
traced  to  this  monstrous  thief  of  time,  which, 

13 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

while  apparently  screeching  and  groaning 
under  its  load,  is,  in  reality,  shouting  with 
joy  at  the  job  it  is  putting  up  on  its  occu- 
pant. 

Taking  the  most  out  of  life  is  the  proper 
label  for  this  old  squeaker — breeder  of  idle 
contentment,  day-dreams,  inertia.  Like 
everything  else  that  saps  the  energy  from 
mind  and  body,  it  counts  its  victims  by  the 
score,  and  throws  them  up  on  the  sands  of 
time. 

Speaking  of  sand  may  serve  to  remind  the 
reader  of  a  well-known  poem  handed  down 
from  Grandmother  days,  which  holds  a  lot 
of  precious  wisdom — probably  more  than 
any  poem  of  its  length — its  breadth  and 
depth  being  equal  to  the  world  in  which  we 
live.  In  childhood  days  this  poem  took  my 
fancy,  being  short,  to  the  point,  and  easy  to 

14 


o 
o 


o 
f-l 


LITTLE  GRAINS  OF  SAND 

remember.  I  was  ready  to  recite  it  immedi- 
ately and  automatically  upon  request.  I  had 
no  thought  then  as  to  its  meaning,  but  as  the 
years  rolled  by  it  tagged  along  in  memory 
until  now  I  find  in  it  a  sort  of  statement  of 
fact  upon  which  to  build  my  theory  of  mak- 
ing life  worth  while.    Here  it  is : 

Little  drops  of  water. 
Little  grains  of  sand, 
Maketh  the  mighty  ocean 
And  a  pleasant  land. 

To  those  who  adopt  the  idea  of  finding 
out  just  why  little  drops  of  water  and  little 
grains  of  sand  accomplish  so  much,  will  come 
the  greatest  reward  in  the  way  of  mental 
satisfaction — and,  meanwhile,  they'll  keep 
busy. 

15 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

There  is  unbounded  happiness  in  the  pur- 
suit of  knowledge;  a  wonderful  satisfaction 
in  building  up  one's  treasure  house  of  infor- 
mation. It's  all  so  easy,  requiring  nothing 
more  than  a  healthy,  enquiring  mind— and 
a  zest  for  the  sport. 

Zest  is  a  big  word.  It  has  to  do  with  get 
up  and  git,  which  has  been  most  appropri- 
ately boiled  down  into  the  word  pep.  Lazy 
people,  mentally  or  bodily,  seldom  get  any- 
where. What  they  do  get  is  either  accidental 
or  by  absorption — if  by  the  latter  process, 
more  likely  through  the  pores  than  the  brain. 
No  use  to  talk  to  them  about  making  life 
worth  while. 

The  greatest  of  human  possessions  are  a 
well-trained  mind,  a  body  to  match,  and  a 
love  of  achievement,  without  which  a  man  is 
old  before  his  time.  After  that  comes  energy 
— the  great  propeller!    What  the  brain  di- 

16 


Teaching  his  dog*  to  smile 


LITTLE  GRAINS  OF  SAND 

rects  the  body  will  carry  out — if  the  pro- 
peller is  working.  No  hesitation — when  the 
will  commands  the  body  acts.  They  syn- 
chronize^— they  are  attuned,  harmonious,  fra- 
ternal, so  to  speak.  And  to  hitch  them  to- 
gether is  just  as  easy  as  getting  wet  by 
standing  bareheaded  in  the  rain. 

There  is  no  intention  of  littering  up  this 
chapter  with  ways  and  means  of  putting 
one's  upper  story  in  fine  working  order — or 
the  physical  structure  below.  That  is  first- 
reader  information.  If  we  treat  ourselves 
right,  the  brain  will  behave  and  the  body  will 
follow  suit.  Activity,  mental  and  physical, 
is  the  meat  in  the  cocoanut.  Seeking  knowl- 
edge leads  along  the  sunlit  paths  of  life 
where  happiness  abounds.  The  alternative 
is  mental  shiftlessness,  leading  from  nowhere 
to  nothing  at  all. 

Cain  killed  Abel  because,  undoubtedly,  of 
17 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

the  shiftless  life  he  led.  Indolence  and  ig- 
norance being  the  order  of  his  day,  he  lacked 
the  stamina  with  which  to  control  his  mind. 
His  physical  forces  merely  acted  in  conso- 
nance with  his  rage  at  Abel's  popularity. 
Cupidity  led  him  on,  but  if  Cain  hadn't  lost 
his  head  through  lack  of  will  to  control  him- 
self the  example  of  murder  might  never  have 
been  set  before  mankind. 

Centuries  have  come  and  gone  and  still 
the  passion  to  kill  continues  upon  the  face 
of  the  earth.  To  stop  it  is  but  a  matter  of 
correcting  human  thought  through  physical 
and  mental  training  so  that  those  notions 
which  interfere  with  a  normal,  healthy  brain 
tendency,  will  cease  to  exist.  This  done,  the 
degenerate  born  of  indolence  somewhere 
along  the  line,  will  disappear  from  the  face 
of  the  earth  in  jig  time. 

18 


LITTLE   GRAINS   OF   SAND 

New  intellectual  forces  will  do  the  trick; 
forces  built  up  from  healthy,  right  thinking, 
energetic  investigation,  and  consequent  ac- 
quisition of  knowledge. 

How  the  world  will  wag  a  few  years  hence 
depends  upon  Mothers  and  Fathers  of  to- 
day. As  great  trials  are  strengthening  to 
character ;  the  prospect  seems  bright. 


19 


AS  THE  TWIG  IS  BENT 


CHAPTER  II 

AS  THE   TWIG   IS   BENT 

Temperament  looms  large  in  the  game  of 
life,  and,  like  all  other  human  brain  tenden- 
cies, is  subject  to  regulation  through  the  ex- 
ercise of  ordinary  horse  sense.  We  often 
hear  one  person  speak  of  another's  tempera- 
mental qualities  in  the  light  of  an  incurable 
disease ,  and  more  than  likely  in  an  apologetic 
way.  A  faulty  tendency  is  usually  laid  at 
the  door  of  a  doughty  grandsire  on  one  or 
both  sides  of  the  house  and  left  there  as  a 
piece  of  ordinary  table  gossip  to  be  resumed 
any  old  time  without  notice. 

We've  all  heard  someone  dispose  of  an- 
other with  quick  dispatch  by  the  casual  re- 
28 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

mark,  "He's  temperamental"  It  all  depends 
upon  the  inflection  of  the  speaker's  voice 
whether  his  words  are  intended  as  a  knockout 
blow  or  an  apology  in  behalf  of  the  culprit. 
But  any  time  you  want  to  pursue  the  subject 
you'll  hear  about  some  obdurate  old  ancestor 
who  passed  the  buck  on  to  his  posterity. 

While  we  most  assuredly  do  inherit  va- 
rious mental  attitudes  from  our  ancestors, 
there's  nothing  we  cannot  get  rid  of  if  we 
resolve  to  do  so.  There  is  nothing  fatal 
about  preconceived  notions  handed  down  to 
us.  Mental  culture  through  education  and 
association  is  the  royal  road.  If,  through  ig- 
norance, or  narrow-mindedness,  one  should 
prefer  to  hang  on  to  certain  personal  or  men- 
tal crudities  just  for  the  sake  of  posing  as  a 
"chip  off  of  the  old  block,"  then  let  the  pun- 
ishment fit  the  crime. 
24 


AS  THE  TWIG  IS  BENT 

Temperament  plays  a  big  part  in  making 
life  worth  while  and  is  more  largely  due  to 
the  time  in  which  we  live  and  with  whom  we 
associate  than  to  inheritance.  It  is  the  physi- 
cal department  that  is  really  handed  down 
to  us — the  blood  in  our  veins  rather  than  the 
dents  on  our  brains.  To  be  subject  to  scrof- 
ula from  infancy  is  no  fault  of  our  own,  but 
to  continue  an  eccentricity  under  the  claim  of 
inherited  temperament  is  excusable  only 
upon  the  score  of  ignorance. 

People  do  inherit  brain  tendencies,  but 
they  are  all  subject  to  control  through  the 
will  to  do  or  don't,  as  the  case  may  be.  Sup- 
posing grandfather  used  to  swear  like  a 
trooper — and  he  probably  did — the  habit  was 
temperamental  to  the  extent  of  being  in  tune 
with  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  But  what 
grandson  of  to-day  would  think  of  claiming 

25 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

exemption  by  reason  of  inherited  tempera- 
ment if  addicted  to  the  same  vulgar  habit? 
On  the  other  hand,  if  we  are  born  with  rheu- 
matic tendencies  we  may  expect  to  fight 
with  them  all  our  lives.  One  is  a  brain  tend- 
ency, subject  to  control;  the  other  is  a 
blood-inheritance  that  we  may  never  cor- 
rect. 

Personal  habits  of  thought  or  action  are 
temperamental  according  to  the  avidity  with 
which  we  cling  to  them.  George  Ade  has 
said  that  a  man  might  be  born  with  a  hair  lip 
or  a  club  foot,  but  whiskers  were  his  own 
fault.  Thus  we  were  handed  the  best  pos- 
sible line  of  demarcation  between  the  inher- 
ited tendency  and  the  personal  temperament. 
So,  if  we  were  of  the  temperament  to  wear  a 
beard  because  our  great  grandfather  wore 
one  we  could,  if  the  notion  struck  us,  take  it 
to  the  barber  and  have  it  cut  away.    Just  so 

26 


AS  THE  TWIG  IS  BENT 

we  may  get  out  from  any  other  tempera- 
mental habit,  or  thought,  or  action,  through 
the  very  simple  process  of  becoming  mas- 
ters of  our  own  minds.  Grandfather  may 
hand  us  a  line  of  tainted  blood  that  we  can't 
manage,  but  temperament  is  our  own  to 
manage  as  we  will. 

Control  over  one's  temperament  is  posi- 
tively necessary  in  making  life  worth  while. 
If  we  are  bent  on  securing  full  happiness  for 
having  lived,  we  are  bound  to  contribute  our 
share  toward  an  ultimate  world  sanity  in 
which  the  word  temperament  may  not  serve 
to  cloak  mental  deficiency.  College  life 
takes  the  kink  out  of  the  untrained  mind  and 
makes  it  behave  normally.  It  makes  no  al- 
lowance for  the  accentuated  temperament. 
Fool  notions  brought  along  from  the  dear 
old  home  town  are  soon  sifted  into  the  chaff 
barrel  and  common  sense  comes  into  its  own. 
27 


THE  NEW  ORDER  OF  LIVING 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   NEW   ORDER   OF   LIVING 

We're  never  old  until  we  think  we  are — 
this  I  say,  not  as  a  sop  to  those  beyond  the 
half-way  station,  but  as  a  conclusion  after 
some  years  of  observation  and  association 
with  men. 

I  know  some  young  men  of  sixty  who  are 
putting  over  a  sample  of  golf  that  annexes 
my  goat.  One  forgets  their  age  when  he 
finds  them  up  and  coming  on  every  proposi- 
tion of  legitimate  sport  and  pleasure. 
They've  learned  how  to  live  and  are  living. 

There  is  a  big  change  in  the  habits  of  men. 
The  day  in  which  we  live  is  replete  with  sim- 
ple enjoyments  and  facilities  whereby  to 
31 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

make  the  most  of  them.  Achievement  keeps 
them  young,  and  achievement  is  a  matter  of 
management  rather  than  working  hours. 
Organization  cuts  the  hours  off  of  the  busi- 
ness day  which  leaves  ample  time  for  the  re- 
creation needed  to  insure  a  good  appetite,  a 
healthy  body,  and  the  right  kind  of  sleep. 
If  there  is  any  secret  in  this  simple  process 
then  consider  that  the  cat  is  "out  of  the  bag." 
Ifs  yours. 

If  we  see  a  lean,  hungry,  decrepit  mule 
wearily  dragging  his  load  along  we  know  at 
a  glance  that  he  is  underfed,  overworked,  and 
doesn't  receive  proper  care.  He  works  too 
many  hours  a  day,  stands  abuse  from  his 
driver,  becomes  morose,  just  the  same  as  a 
human  being,  and  finally,  indifferent  to  what 
happens.  Thus  reduced  to  the  depth  of  de- 
spair, he  actually  awaits  the  crack  of  the 
32 


w 


c3 

•d 
<1 


THE  NEW  ORDER  OF  LIVING 

whip  across  his  loins  before  answering  the 
call  to  move  along. 

But  times  are  changing  for  both  men  and 
mules.  Neither  will  stand  the  abuse  and 
neglect  of  years  gone  by.  Men  are  no  longer 
the  slaves  of  the  big  boss.  They  have  certain 
hours  for  work,  after  which  their  time  is  their 
own. 

Fortunately  the  era  of  treating  one's  self 
decently  is  on.  The  barroom  has  ceased  to 
be  the  national  indoor  sport.  Every  self- 
respecting  town  or  city  has  joined  in  the 
community  of  interests  theory  that  out-of- 
door  life  is  good  for  its  citizens.  The  result 
is  play-grounds  for  children,  public  parks  for 
all  of  the  family,  and  golf  courses  nearby  for 
the  men.  It  beats  the  old  front  porch  rock- 
ing chair  proposition  forty  ways. 

It  isn't  more  than  twenty-five  years  since 
3d 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

the  real  out-of-door  era  began  to  dawn.  I 
remember  distinctly  as  a  boy  of  ten  how  hard 
it  was  to  raise  a  companion  after  the  evening 
meal.  My  parents  held  liberal  views  on  the 
subject.  They  trusted  me  in  the  matter  of 
keeping  out  of  mischief  and  about  the  only 
warning  I  received  was,  "Don't  go  far,  and 
don't  stay  out  too  late."  With  such  elastic 
instructions  I  had  very  little  trouble  in  keep- 
ing the  record  straight,  for  my  parents  never 
held  me  to  strict  account. 

In  my  meanderings,  however,  I  found  the 
boys  of  my  acquaintance  pretty  well 
hemmed  in  during  the  evening  hours.  The 
scene  is  easily  recalled.  The  front  stoop  is 
plastered  with  rugs ;  the  mother,  father,  sis- 
ters, aunts,  and  grandmother  are  seated 
about  on  the  steps,  hammock  or  porch  chairs. 
Bob,  Bill,  Dick  or  Jim,  as  the  case  might  be, 

34 


THE  NEW  ORDER  OF  LIVING 

was  first  to  be  noticed  leaning  against  the 
front  gate,  or  looking  dreamily  over  the  side 
fence.  But  as  soon  as  the  porch  arguments 
began  to  warm  up  he  could  be  seen  edging 
along  slowly,  inch  by  inch,  toward  the  rear 
— just  nonchalantly,  two  pickets  at  a  time, 
without  any  special  semblance  of  hurrying. 
If  his  mother  had  the  floor  in  the  argument 
he  got  away  speedily  and  he  generally  waited 
for  that. 

But  success  was  not  always  the  case. 
Many  times  have  I  stood  impatiently  out  of 
view  giving  the  hurry-up  signal,  when  sud- 
denly there  came  a  loud  call  from  the  front 
that  caused  Robert  to  fall  back  into  his  own 
yard  and  walk  quickly  around  to  the  whence- 
ness  of  the  clamor. 

"What  do  you  want,  Ma?"  he  would  en- 
quire— as  if  he  didn't  thoroughly  well  know. 
85 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

"I  want  you  to  stay  around  here  where  I 
can  keep  an  eye  on  you.  Then  I'll  know 
where  you  are.3' 

Sometimes  this  kind  of  a  backset  would 
require  nearly  a  half  hour  of  skilful  jockey- 
ing to  repair.  After  that  only  the  boldest 
of  plans  stood  a  chance  to  succeed,  such  as 
walking  into  the  house  from  the  front  as  if 
in  deep  disgust,  or  after  a  drink  of  water  in 
the  rear  of  the  house.  Then  out  through  the 
kitchen  door  and  over  the  back  fence  in  a 

jiffy- 

A  nudge  from  sister  often  nullified  this 
subterfuge  when  the  mother  seemed  about  to 
fall  for  the  project,  and  that  meant  the  loss 
of  another  fifteen  minutes  during  which 
Bobby  would  actually  go  and  take  a  swallow 
of  water  and  come  back  to  the  porch,  there 
to  stretch  and  yawn  until  told  that  he'd  bet- 

36 


A  pointed  argument 


THE  NEW  ORDER  OF  LIVING 

ter  go  in  and  go  to  bed.  Victory  at  last  for 
Bob,  showing  that  there  was  more  than  one 
way  to  win  a  battle  even  in  those  days.  The 
slamming  of  an  upstairs  bed-room  door, 
meant  for  his  mother's  ears,  a  slide  down  the 
"rain  pipe" — and  over  the  fence  for  Bobby. 

But  what  a  wonderful  change  has  come 
into  the  parental  mind  since  then.  Now  all 
Bob  does  is  to  announce  where  he  is  going — 
to  the  "gym,"  over  to  Bill's,  motor-boating, 
canoeing,  bicycling,  a  hike  in  the  park,  or  a 
look  in  on  the  movies.  Home  and  to  bed  by 
ten  o'clock. 

And  what  is  the  result?  Boys  of  twelve 
now  days  become  officers  in  Boy  Scout  com- 
panies. They  go  in  for  everything  likely  to 
make  them  athletic,  manly  and  alert.  At  six- 
teen they  have  more  general  knowledge  than 
boys  of  twenty  had  twenty-five  years  ago. 
37 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

And  their  minds  are  cleaner,  likewise  their 
bodies.  Schooling  comes  easier  to  them,  al- 
though the  courses  are  far  more  advanced. 
It  takes  knowledge  to  get  started  off  right 
now  days. 

This  is  an  age  of  pep,  and  the  competition 
of  today  means  pep  vs.  pep.  With  equal 
mental  preparedness  the  man  with  the  brawn 
will  stand  the  gaff  that  would  kill  his  soft 
competitor.  Lest  we  forget — recreation,  a 
good  appetite,  a  healthy  body,  and  the 
proper  amount  of  sleep — are  positive  re- 
quirements in  making  life  worth  while. 


38 


FEEDING  THE  INTELLECT 


CHAPTER  IV 

FEEDING  THE  INTELLECT 

Feeding  the  intellect  is  naturally  the  most 
fascinating  pursuit  in  this  life  and  probably 
will  be  in  the  life  to  come.  There  is  nothing 
like  stocking  up  the  mind,  tickling  the  brain 
cells,  making  dents  in  the  cerebellum,  for 
thereby  is  induced  the  most  perfect  sanity 
and  the  power  to  think  with  precision. 

It  is  bully  to  be  able  to  think  straight  to 
the  point,  and  to  quickly  analyze  right  down 
to  the  bone.  Such  ability  loans  us  proper 
respect  for  ourselves  and  compels  the  re- 
spect of  all  with  whom  we  may  brush  against. 

Power  to  think  begins  with  first  realiza- 
tions, and  thereafter  we  have  only  to  add  fuel 
41 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

to  the  intellectual  fires  day  by  day,  month  by 
month,  and  year  by  year,  until  we  arrive  at 
that  state  of  mental  sufficiency  which  may 
happily  be  termed  "the  fullness  thereof." 

Not  until  we  cross  this  bridge  are  we  safe 
— not  until  then  will  we  have  come  into  a 
state  of  sane  thinking — nor  will  we  be  fully 
alive!  On  our  march  we  will  have  learned 
to  delve  with  patience,  listen  with  under- 
standing, and  communicate  with  intelligence. 
Then  we  may  give  and  take  with  common 
understanding  with  the  best  of  them.  What 
we  get  we  store  away  for  use  when  needed. 
Then  may  we  commune  with  our  intellectual 
equals  on  the  basis  of  quid  pro  quo — horse 
and  horse — "even  Stephen." 

But  what  a  heartache  when  we  cannot 
give!  What  a  sensation  of  regret  when  we 
find  ourselves  standing  still  intellectually 
42 


FEEDING  THE  INTELLECT 

while  we  watch  the  procession  go  by.  Not 
capable  of  giving,  likewise  we  are  handi- 
capped in  our  ability  to  receive — we're 
hitched  to  a  post,  so  to  speak,  along  with 
other  species  of  lesser  understanding. 

Alongside  of  us  in  our  journey  through 
life  are  sure  to  be  men  of  more  than  ordinary 
achievement,  who  by  dint  of  special  genius 
have  accomplished  worthy  objects  most  pass- 
ing well — something  that  brought  them 
wealth  or  fame  and  likely  both — but  left 
them  dumb  and  speechless  in  the  presence 
of  intellectual  persons,  who,  in  self-defense, 
must  pass  them  up  for  want  of  mental  fel- 
lowship. 

To  speak  of  the  "Dark  Ages"  is  but  a 
polite  reference  to  that  period  of  time  when 
mankind  generally  was  known  to  be  "addle- 
pated."    The  light  refused  to  shine  upon  his 

43 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

thimbleful  of  brains,,  although  the  sun  of  cen- 
turies had  blazed  down  upon  a  world  of  half- 
baked  intellects — and  even  yet  has  work 
ahead.  But  coming  through  the  ages,  in  the 
due  course  of  events,  a  few  master  minds 
coincided  in  the  belief  that  a  little  exercise 
was  good  for  the  "noddle"  and  set  about  it 
to  experiment. 

The  first  hard  work  indulged  in  by  our 
early  ancestry,  after  receiving  a  slight  smat- 
tering of  instruction,  was  to  kill  off  their 
teachers.  Many  centuries  were  allowed  to 
skip  by  before  education  was  again  utilized 
in  stimulating  the  understanding. 

Pending  the  dawn  of  the  new  era,  man 
was  taught  only  the  use  of  his  hands  and  feet 
for  the  sake  of  his  stomach — his  upper  story 
becoming  a  warehouse  for  dark  supersti- 
tions, and  fearful  forebodings.    It  is  not  un- 

44 


02 

o 

g 


CZ2 


FEEDING  THE  INTELLECT 

likely  that  from  this  period  descended  the 
later  day  reference  to  certain  persons  as 
numskulls — a  species  of  mankind  known  to 
have  bats  in  the  belfry. 

Notwithstanding  the  seeming  uselessness 
of  many  hundreds  of  centuries  in  their  rela- 
tion to  human  intelligence,  there  is  no  dis- 
counting the  fact  that  we  have  finally  come 
into  an  age  when  brain  power  is  not  counted 
a  misdemeanor  and  made  subject  to  fine  and 
imprisonment.  From  the  end  of  our  Civil 
War  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  great  world- 
wide strife,  the  intellect  of  man  had  ex- 
panded tremendously.  More  important  still, 
intellect  had  been  discovered  to  be  a  world- 
asset,  and  of  such  mighty  consequence  that 
human  knowledge  progressed  amazingly. 

Pity  it  is  that  the  world's  brain  power 
could  not  have  forestalled  the  great  slaugh- 
45 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

ter — impossible,  however,  at  this  stage  of  our 
mental  development.  But  the  time  is  com- 
ing— our  grandchildren  will  see  the  day — 
when  intellectuality  will  rule  the  universe. 
Brains  and  bodies  of  individuals  are  to  be  de- 
veloped for  other  uses  than  war.  Until  that 
day  arrives  we  are  bound  to  continue  as  be- 
fore, and  will,  with  true  patriotism,  follow 
the  flag  of  our  cause. 

Some  day  when  our  intellects  have  been 
fed  up  into  a  higher  state  of  efficiency  and 
humanity  is  more  nearly  matched  in  brain 
power,  settlements  between  nations  will  be 
made  beside  the  lamp  of  reason  rather  than 
under  the  flare  of  the  cannon's  mouth. 


46 


BACKING  UP  THE  FLAG 


CHAPTER  V 

BACKING   UP   THE  FLAG 

Loyalty  is  one  of  those  three-syllable 
words  with  a  big  meaning  all  its  own.  Out 
of  the  letters  composing  it  can  be  spelled  two 
other  words — the  preposition  to;  and  the  ad- 
verb all.  Loyalty  to  all — everything  worth 
while;  our  country,  our  homes,  our  govern- 
ment, and  the  friends  we  have  "and  their 
adoption  tried."  It  seems  a  shame  to  hear 
this  fine  word  used  in  any  other  connection, 
such  as  "loyal  to  the  gang" — "loyal  to  his 
confederates" — "loyal  to  the  enemy."  It  is 
too  fine  a  word  to  be  employed  in  a  manner 
possessing  the  significance  of  the  word 
"traitor." 

49 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

Now  that  the  word  loyalty  has  come  back 
into  such  vast  everyday  usage,  the  time  is 
ripe  to  nail  it  down  hard  and  fast  to  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  it  stands.  Why  not  say  "he 
was  in  cahoots  with  the  gang" — "false  to  his 
constituency" — "dishonest  with  his  confed- 
erates ?"  Then,  in  our  mind's  eye,  let  us  hang 
the  word  loyalty  alongside  of  the  flag  and 
keep  it  there  for  all  time. 

As  I  write  this  chapter,  keeping  in  mind 
the  subject  of  Making  Life  Worth  While, 
a  feeling  of  serenity  pervades  my  inner  con- 
sciousness. I  believe  that  loyalty  practically 
reigns  supreme  in  America.  I  believe  that 
the  fifty-fifty  variety  has  become  scarcer 
than  hen's  teeth  when  measured  by  the  whole 
citizenship.  Only  among  the  unenlightened, 
the  profligates,  the  misanthropes  and  enemy 
aliens,  are  they  bound  to  be  found  at  all. 
50 


BACKING  UP  THE  FLAG 

Thanks  to  governmental  efficiency  during 
times  most  trying,  the  searchlight  has  been 
turned  upon  the  meaning  of  the  word  loyalty 
in  this  country.  The  flag  symbolizes  it  and 
it  hangs  everywhere.  We  take  off  our  hats 
to  it  when  we  pass  it  on  the  street,  and  when 
we  hear  the  songs  that  match  it  we  join  our 
voices  with  the  rest. 

To  love  the  flag  is  a  soul  quality  and  when 
the  souls  of  a  hundred  million  strong  go  out 
in  support  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  there  is 
mighty  little  standing  room  for  the  mere  on- 
looker. 

He  is  either  with  us  or  against  us — that's 
the  slogan  that  thins  the  ranks  of  the  unbe- 
lievers in  our  country.  It  makes  them  sit  up 
and  stare  at  the  truth.  It  makes  them  blink 
their  eyes  in  wonder,  which  is  first  aid  in 
thinking  things  over.  It  causes  them  to  look 
51 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

around  and  compare  their  standpoint  with 
that  represented  by  the  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner. 

In  taking  stock  of  the  situation  here  is 
what  they  found  to  be  true — that  this  great 
country  stands  for  peace — not  only  for  it- 
self, but  its  neighbors  all  over  the  world 
That  peace  is  so  desirable,  and  so  essential 
that  it  is  worth  fighting  for  to  the  last  man 
and  the  last  dollar.  That  without  peace 
nothing  counts  as  of  value  in  the  entire  in- 
ventory of  things  worth  while  and,  therefore, 
nothing  remains  but  to  fight — and  to  a  finish. 

When  your  Uncle  Sam  rolls  up  his  sleeves 
preparatory  to  a  scrap  he  begins  to  take  on 
size  that  distinguishes  him  from  the  ordinary 
fighter.  He  goes  about  it  methodically,  and 
allows  himself  the  proper  time  in  which  to 
get  in  readiness.    Then  he  takes  a  running 

52 


Companions 


BACKING  UP  THE  FLAG 

jump  into  the  middle  of  the  ring.  After 
this  the  disinterested  onlooker  isn't  long  in 
catching  the  fact  that,  as  a  mere  matter  of 
discretion,  it  is  far  better  to  be  with  Uncle 
Sam  than  to  be  against  him.  Also  it  must 
creep  into  his  mind  that  if  he  doesn't  want  to 
be  smashed  into  a  proper  state  of  mind,  the 
best  thing  to  do  is  to  join  in  and  help. 

If  a  hundred  million  people  want  peace 
bad  enough  to  fight  for  it,  both  for  them- 
selves and  their  neighbors,  it  isn't  for  slackers 
either  in  thought  or  in  spirit  to  stand  on  the 
side  lines  and  watch  the  scrap.  People  of 
that  mould  do  not  belong  in  America. 

Everybody  must  do  his  part  and  do  it 
right.  There  are  thousands  of  ways  of  help- 
ing on  toward  victory.  There  is  more  than 
one  way  of  fighting.  The  most  potent  of 
all  is  to  back  up  the  man  who  does — except, 
53 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

of  course,  when  his  time  comes,  every  man 
capable  of  pulling  a  trigger  must  pick  up  his 
pack  and  take  his  place  on  the  firing  line. 
Meanwhile  it  behooves  all  of  us  to  be  ready 
for  the  call. 


54 


HALF-BAKED  KNOWLEDGE 


CHAPTER  VI 

HALF-BAKED   KNOWLEDGE 

It  will  take  more  than  a  star  shell  to  light 
up  the  pathway  of  a  man  who  clutters  his 
brain  with  half-baked  knowledge.  Pitfalls 
galore  are  ahead  of  him  no  matter  which  way 
he  may  turn.  Such  people  are,  by  nature,  of 
the  cocksure  variety,  going  in  where  angels 
fear  to  tread,  and  gaining  nothing  for  cer- 
tain by  reason  of  their  experiences.  In  time 
they  earn  the  reputation  of  being  bull- 
headed  and  sooner  or  later  are  on  their  way 
downstream  without  a  rudder. 

Sometimes  the  strong-willed  fellow  of 
fragmentary  knowledge  isn't  to  blame  for 
his  affliction.  Every  little  circumstance  has 
57 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

something  to  do  with  his  future  course  and 
if  he  happens  to  be  born  "on  the  wrong  side 
of  the  moon,"  his  course  is  more  or  less  pre- 
destined. He  views  things  through  a  film — 
hazy-like,  and  inaccurate.  To  him  investiga- 
tion means  nothing.  His  mind  is  like  a  sieve 
that  will  not  retain  the  fine  particles  which 
must  accumulate  until  a  firm  founda- 
tion forms  upon  which  to  bear  a  permanent 
housing  for  his  reasoning  powers. 

The  worst  phase  of  the  ever-ready  reck- 
oner of  uncertain  statistics  is  that  he  usually 
circulates  among  the  credulous.  Who  of  us 
is  there  that  hasn't  at  some  time  in  our  varie- 
gated careers  sat  across  from  him  at  an  old- 
fashioned  boarding  house  table  d'hote? 
Even  now  we  can  hear  him  saying,  "My  no- 
tion of  that  is  this!"  And  wasn't  it  fun  to 
watch  those  who  drank  it  all  in  and  gulped 

58 


HALF-BAKED  KNOWLEDGE 

it  down  with  their  coffee?  The  green  cheese 
story  about  the  moon  would  have  been  swal- 
lowed by  some  of  them  if  our  half-baked 
know-it-all  persisted  in  its  truth. 

For  such  as  him,  no  doubt,  was  composed 
Kipling's  wonderfully  cynical  line,  "alas,  we 
know  he  never  could  know  and  never  could 
understand."  And  also  for  such  as  him  it 
was  ordained  that  he  should  never  stay  in  one 
place  long.  Something  tells  him  to  keep 
moving — perhaps  the  giggling  that  breaks 
out  in  the  midst  of  a  lofty  peroration ;  a  snort 
of  derision  at  some  observation  intended  to 
be  philosophical  but  which  fell  far  short  of 
the  mark. 

While  it  doesn't  take  long  to  pack  up  and 

locate  elsewhere,  it  must  be  tedious  work  to 

have  continually  the  task  on  hand  of  making 

new  friends-— only  to  lose  them.    But  that 

59 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

is  the  penalty  of  becoming  the  butt  of  the 
jokester,  who  will  not  be  denied.  Once  he 
finds  a  victim  it's  time  for  that  victim  to 
move.  The  jokester  has  no  pity,  and  in 
lofty  speech  he  tells  his  victim  so — accom- 
panied by  shouts  of  approval  from  those  who 
hear  and  understand. 

The  ego  of  ignorance  which  stands  by  its 
false  assumptions  from  sheer  lack  of  correct 
understanding  invites  pity  that  it  seldom  re- 
ceives. In  due  course  of  human  events  the 
distributor  of  half-baked  wisdom  will  be 
grafted  with  a  twig  from  the  tree  of  learning 
and  thus  the  species  will  become  extinct. 
This,  as  Shakespeare  says,  "is  devoutly  to  be 
wished,"  and  while  wishing  it  seems  perfectly 
all  right  to  express  the  hope  that  those  who 
read  this  short  chapter  will  make  a  point  of 
sowing  a  few  seeds  in  certain  gardens  where 
60 


ho 


Pi 
C 


HALF-BAKED  KNOWLEDGE 

tall  weeds  now  grow,  "just  for  the  lack  of 
the  rake  and  the  hoe."  A  little  sarcasm  will 
turn  the  trick. 


61 


HARNESSING  THE  BRAIN 


CHAPTER  VII 

HARNESSING   THE   BRAIN 

To  make  life  truly  worth  while  one  would, 
if  possible,  follow  his  natural  bent,  having 
trained  himself  accordingly,  otherwise  no 
matter  how  successful  he  might  become  in 
a  material  sense,  regrets  would  be  inevitable 
and  likely  to  lead  to  a  surly  old  age.  It  is  a 
vast  mistake  to  believe  that  the  possession  of 
great  wealth  insures  happiness — and  with- 
out happiness  whose  life  is  worth  while? 

The  makings  of  many  a  good  butcher, 
baker,  or  candlestick-maker  have  gone  to 
waste  when  a  youngster  walked  through  the 
wrong  doorway  in  search  of  his  first  job. 
That  is  the  initial  lottery  ticket  we  buy — 
and  sometimes  pay  for  most  dearly. 

65 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

The  situation  is  better  now  than  hereto- 
fore, particularly  if  the  youngster  has,  on 
starting  out,  the  advantage  of  at  least  a  high 
school  education.  To  that  extent  he  has  a 
trained  mind.  If  he  could  have  gone  on 
through  college  or  technical  school  his  suc- 
cess would  be  practically  assured.  To  get 
through  would  mean  that  he  had  acquired 
proper  mental  balance. 

Nevertheless,  the  great  majority  still  go 
forth  into  the  world  of  affairs  with  small  edu- 
cational equipment,  just  when  their  minds 
are  least  prepared,  which  accounts  for  the 
old  saying — "a  Utile  knowledge  is  a  danger- 
ous thing." 

So,  when  John  Henry  Jones,  the  hat-mak- 
er's son,  shows  a  disinclination  to  go  to  school 
his  father  is  pretty  sure  to  take  a  shot  at 
him  something  like  this: 

66 


HARNESSING  THE   BRAIN 

"Either  go  to  school,  or  go  to  work.  You 
can't  lay  around  and  loaf/' 

Now  there  was  where  John's  father  got 
off  on  the  wrong  foot.  There  and  then  he 
missed  his  chance  for  a  real  heart  to  heart 
talk  and  at  a  time  when  his  boy,  from  pure 
lack  of  reasoning  ability,  had  worked  his 
mind  into  a  bad  state.  Then  was  the  time  to 
have  dropped  his  tools  and  straightened  out 
the  kinks  in  the  youngster's  noggin.  A  little 
friendly  counsel  might  easily  have  shown  the 
folly  of  going  out  into  the  world  without 
brain  tools  to  work  with. 

As  for  the  boy,  his  whole  future  most 
likely  hung  upon  the  result  of  an  interview 
inside  the  first  doorway  he  entered.  Not 
possessing  a  proper  amount  of  mental  train- 
ing his  natural  tendency  became  his  sole 
guardian  at  the  supreme  moment  of  his  ca- 
67 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

reer — the  start.  Surely  it  would  be  a  mat- 
ter of  luck  how  he  came  through.  His  fu- 
ture, in  a  sense,  was  in  the  hands  of  strangers 
and  a  strange  environment. 

In  these  days  people  are  employed  to  fill 
a  certain  niche.  If  they  fill  it,  they  are  al- 
lowed to  keep  on  filling  it.  There's  little 
chance  to  look  up  from  the  job — and  when 
the  day's  work  ends  there's  little  chance  to 
look  around  for  another.  Thus  if  John 
Henry  was  set  to  work  in  a  menial  position 
at  the  beginning  he  might  never  be  regarded 
as  eligible  for  a  position  leading  toward  real 
advancement.  He  came  without  knowledge 
and  for  lack  of  opportunity  he  gained  none. 
Being  a  perfectly  good  sweeper  and  duster 
he  remained  to  sweep  and  dust  until,  in 
despair,  he  tries  for  a  job  at  another  place. 

"But,"  you  say,  "the  example  is  not  trust- 
68 


Tweedle-dee— Tweedle-dum 


HARNESSING  THE   BRAIN 

worthy.  Look  at  the  great  men  who  started 
out  in  a  small  way.  They  are  now  the  bul- 
wark of  the  nation." 

Perhaps  true,  but  times  have  changed  rad- 
ically. It  is  the  boy  graduate  that  is  being 
sought  after  now.  "Big  Business"  is  bid- 
ding for  the  annual  graduating  classes  long 
in  advance.  It  wants  trained  minds  to  fill 
brain  positions — and  that's  why  the  college 
man  and  the  graduates  of  technical  schools 
forge  ahead  so  quickly.  They  literally  run 
over  the  half -educated,  untrained  workers 
who  sit  and  wonder  at  their  own  lack  of  ad- 
vancement. 

It's  not  a  matter  to  pout  about.  There's 
only  one  thing  to  do — work  out  of  it.  A  spe- 
cial course  in  the  thing  the  mind  and  talent 
is  best  fitted  for  is  the  way  out.  Why  wait 
for  "lightning"  to  strike  us?    Night  schools 

69 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

abound  in  all  branches  of  learning.  Many 
a  man  has  turned  himself  into  a  brilliant  law- 
yer, expert  accountant,  or  famous  editor, 
through  night  school  "work.  Diligence  and 
perseverance  is  the  price  of  success,  and  only 
through  success  do  we  find  life  entirely  worth 
while. 

I  have  received  many  letters  from  boys 
and  young  men  who  had  read  Laugh  and 
Live,  asking  me  to  name  the  requisites  for 
success.  I  have  made  but  one  answer  to  all 
such  inquiries: — A  healthy,  clean  body  and 
a  trained,  clean  mind.  There  is  no  other  an- 
swer. 


70 


EXALTING  THE  EGO 


CHAPTER  VIII 


EXALTING   THE   EGO 


Some  day  I  propose  to  write  a  novel ! 

The  main  reason  for  this  determination  is 
the  fact  that  I  have  never  written  one.  I 
don't  know  that  it  will  become  a  "best  goer" 
— and  the  chances  are  against  it — but  I'll  do 
my  best  just  the  same.    And  I  hope  to  win. 

My  reason  for  writing  a  fictional  story  is 
that  by  so  doing  I  will  exercise  my  imagina- 
tive faculties  and  thus  prolong  their  useful- 
ness. The  power  to  imagine  is  an  asset  that 
must  not  be  dulled  by  neglect.  It  responds 
to  exercise  just  as  readily  as  do  the  arms  and 
legs. 

Mental  gymnastics  are  helpful,  in  fact 
73 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

they  are  absolutely  necessary  in  keeping 
alert  the  upper  story  of  the  general  struc- 
ture. They  make  of  the  brain  a  spectacular 
trapeze  performer  toward  which  all  eyes  up- 
turn when  it  takes  its  place  upon  the  swing- 
ing bar. 

The  ability  to  write  a  successful  novel 
would  be  a  crowning  achievement  since  it 
draws  upon  experience  and  vision  in  order 
to  assemble  interesting  characters  around 
an  agreeable  plot.  Love,  of  course,  must 
furnish  the  motif  because  love  is  the  highest 
and  most  noble  form  of  passion — and  passion 
rules  the  universe. 

When  we  contemplate  the  writing  of  a 
novel  we  indulge  in  aspiration  of  the  highest 
order.  The  fact  that  not  one  novel  in  a  thou- 
sand is  likely  to  measure  up  to  a  master- 
piece should  not  halt  one's  determination  to 
74 


EXALTING  THE  EGO 

put  over  a  winner  if  possible.  But  novel 
writing  is  big  game  hunting,  requiring  am- 
munition of  considerable  power — and  the 
aim  must  be  perfect. 

One  should  try  for  small  game  first,  being 
careful  to  make  a  bonfire  out  of  every  effort 
that  will  not  stand  the  test  of  several  months 
in  cold  storage.  Real  fiction  can  wait.  It 
needn't  be  served  to  order.  Any  novel  that 
is  going  to  live  through  one  generation  of 
applauding  readers  will  keep  a  few  months 
while  its  author  uses  the  pruning  hook.  His 
judgment  will  be  all  the  keener  each  time  he 
goes  over  it. 

When  I  write  my  novel  I  shall  allow  no 
close  friend  to  read  it  in  advance  of  its  legiti- 
mate publication,  after  having  been  duly 
passed  upon  by  a  calm  and  candid  profes- 
sional critic  with  a  beady  eye.  When  one  of 
75 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

these  zest-worn  individuals  wades  through 
my  effort  from  first  to  last  page  and  comes 
up  smiling  it  will  be  time  enough  to  indulge 
in  a  faint  hope.  It  is  always  best  for  success 
to  ooze  in  rather  than  to  come  as  a  deluge. 
It  gives  us  time  to  consider  ways  and  means 
of  taking  care  of  the  output.  Also  it  serves 
to  ward  off  an  aggravated  case  of  disappoint- 
ment if  it  doesn't  turn  out  to  be  a  genuine 
gusher.  We  never  know  the  real  verdict 
until  we  hear  from  the  multitude.  No  multi- 
tude, no  verdict  necessary — the  book  is  dead. 
It  isn't  for  the  reason  that  I  lack  for  things 
to  do  that  I  propose  to  try  to  write  a  success- 
ful novel,  nor  is  my  reason  mercenary. 
There  is  no  secret  about  the  matter  either. 
Some  years  ago  I  determined  not  to  go 
through  life  with  a  single  track  mind.  To 
obviate  this  calamity  it  dawned  upon  me  that 

76 


P 

cr 
c 

o 

p 

o 

o 
o 

p 

o 
<x> 
o 


EXALTING  THE  EGO 

I  must  take  an  interest  in  every  little  and  big 
thing  that  came  my  way.  Once  the  resolu- 
tion took  the  form  of  habit,  it  became  a  great 
pleasure  to  persist  in  the  pursuit  of  infor- 
mation, but  the  main  benefit  derived  has 
been  the  development  of  a  determination  to 
do  things  myself. 

Determination  stands  in  constant  need  of 
repair  else  it  deteriorates  into  mere  obsession 
and  falls  of  its  own  weight.  The  habit  of 
investigation  builds  up  self-confidence,  with- 
out which,  determination  has  no  prop  with 
which  to  sustain  itself. 

Investigation  is  a  two-sided  activity  of  the 
mental  processes — it  comes  in  loaded  and  can 
go  out  loaded  if  there's  anything  inside  to 
facilitate  the  movement.  To  prove  this 
theory  is  my  reason  for  taking  a  fling  at 
novel  writing,  and  by  succeeding  my  case  is 

77 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

made.  At  least  it  will  have  been  proved  that 
one's  mind  is  a  reconverter — that  what  it 
imbibes  in  one  form  it  may  exude  in  another. 
Also  it  proves  that  if  one  does  not  exalt  his 
own  ego  no  one  else  can  do  it  for  him. 


78 


GENIUS  PLUS  INITIATIVE 


A  quick  getaway 


CHAPTER  IX 

GENIUS   PLUS   INITIATIVE 

Genius  is  twenty  per  cent  idea,  thirty  per 
cent  talent,  and  fifty  per  cent  initiative. 
Ideas  are  small  in  themselves  when  reduced 
to  brass  tacks,  but  when  we  put  the  steam  be- 
hind they  often  turn  into  something  tre- 
mendous. 

Even  a  fool  may  have  an  idea,  but  it  takes 
brains  and  pep  to  put  one  over. 

Most  every  one  has  had  a  notion  worth 
while,  but  in  most  cases  they  hold  it  cheap 
on  the  theory  that  if  it  really  amounted  to 
anything  some  genius  would  have  thought 
of  it  long  ago  and  put  it  into  practical  use. 
There  is  where  initiative  was  lacking — per- 
81 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

haps  talent  as  well — but  initiative  would 
have  brought  in  talent  from  the  outside. 

The  word  genius  has  been  largely  misap- 
plied. Many  men  who  were  merely  astute 
in  one  way  or  another  have  been  placarded 
with  the  label  of  genius.  But  the  real  genius 
is  one  whose  idea  has  saved  something  for 
his  fellow  man  in  time,  labor,  and  money. 
Who  would  have  thought  forty  years  ago 
that  the  whispering  cups  which  children 
talked  into,  and  by  means  of  which  they 
could  hear  each  other's  voices  a  distance  of 
fifty  or  a  hundred  feet,  would  turn  into  the 
greatest  labor-saving  device  in  all  the  world ! 
Such  has  been  the  fact  ever  since  the  tele- 
phone became  an  everyday  utility. 

The  principle  was  discovered  in  a  toy — 
the  practical,  every-day  application  as  a 
labor-saving  device  was  to  come — but  it  came 
82 


GENIUS   PLUS   INITIATIVE 

soon.  A  genius  brought  it  about  by  invent- 
ing a  transmitter  which  enlarged  the  sound 
waves  when  vibrated  over  electrically 
charged  wires.  Just  as  simple  as  water  boil- 
ing in  a  tea  kettle — which,  by  the  way,  led 
to  the  steam  engine. 

Steam,  steel,  and  electricity! — the  play- 
ground of  the  world's  greatest  inventors — 
where  genius  abounds.  Here  were  born  our 
captains  of  industry,  our  fabulous  fortunes, 
our  empire  building  resources.  Intertwined 
with  these  three  great  principles  the  super- 
genius  has  romped  and  played  with  nature's 
secrets  until  the  age  in  which  we  live  is  one 
of  touch  the  button — and  some  labor-saving 
device  does  the  rest. 

We  think  it  wonderful  to  live  in  the  pres- 
ent age  of  genius.  Nothing  seems  lacking. 
But  what  snails  we'll  seem  to  those  who  come 
83 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

along  a  hundred  years  from  now.  Do  we 
think  that  Arizona  will  lack  for  rain  when 
she  needs  it — even  fifty  years  hence  ?  Surely 
the  drudgery  of  the  horse  will  have  passed 
into  oblivion.  Mr.  Ford  to  the  rescue! 
Having  taken  him  out  of  the  roadway,  he 
most  certainly  will  not  allow  the  horse  to  go 
on  slaving  in  the  plough  field.  That  bless- 
ing is  already  in  process  of  solution. 

The  real  period  for  the  genius  is  in  the 
foreground.  The  hardships  of  the  past  are 
over.  Capital  is  ready  and  waiting  eagerly 
for  the  new  idea  no  matter  how  small,  or  how 
big.  Genius  has  but  to  shake  off  inertia, 
build  up  initiative  and  make  full  use  of  its 
talents.  There  isn't  a  stumbling  block  in 
sight.  The  road  is  clear — and  every  added 
facility  helps  that  much  toward  making 
everybody's  life  worth  while. 
84 


THE  BIG  FOUR 


CHAPTER  X 


THE   BIG   FOUR 


I'm  for  that  hard-hitting  type  of  manhood 
which  stands  adamant  for  the  square  deal 
and  no  surrender  under  all  circumstances. 
It  is  one  thing  to  wish  for  justice — quite  an- 
other to  stand  up  and  fight  for  it. 

Probably  not  one  man  in  a  thousand  is 
geared  with  sufficient  heart  action  to  run 
counter  to  a  false  public  opinion.  It  takes 
moral  courage  to  do  this,  even  on  a  small 
scale,  whereas  to  ride  a  bucking  broncho  one 
needs  physical  prowess  which  is  quite  another 
kind  of  bravery.  We've  all  known  men  who 
would  fight  their  weight  in  wild  cats  but 
would  run  like  a  frightened  rabbit  at  the 
87 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

sight  of  a  pretty  woman.  To  get  up  and 
make  a  speech  would  have  been  out  of  the 
question  for  them. 

I  heard  of  a  case  where  a  fine,  quiet  fellow 
who  had  been  elected  as  a  delegate  to  a  small 
county  convention,  was  instructed  to  arise 
to  his  feet  at  the  moment  of  a  certain  nomi- 
nation and  shout  "I  second  the  nomination!" 
Instead  of  following  instructions  he  fainted. 
This  so  excited  the  delegate  who  was  to 
"move  that  the  nominations  be  closed"  that 
he  forgot  his  part,  with  the  result  that  an  op- 
position candidate  was  quickly  proposed, 
carried  the  convention,  and,  in  due  course, 
was  elected  by  the  vote  of  the  people. 

Men  of  the  type  of  President  Wilson  and 

Theodore  Roosevelt,  each  distinctly  different 

in  personality,  are  about  as  scarce  as  hen's 

teeth.    There  are  just  two  such  men  in  our 

88 


THE  BIG  FOUR 


hundred  and  odd  millions  today.  They 
stand  unique  in  the  courage  of  their  convic- 
tions, and  their  ability  to  reach  the  boundary 
lines  of  public  opinion  over  the  world. 
Lloyd  George  belongs  in  the  same  corral. 

Speaking  of  President  Wilson,  one  is 
amazed  at  his  perspicuity.  In  procedure 
directly  opposite  from  Roosevelt  or  Lloyd 
George,  he  has  no  counterpart  either  in  pat- 
tern or  turn  of  mind.  Everything  yields  be- 
fore him — he  appears  to  be  indomitable. 

The  need  of  such  a  man  at  this  hour  is  ap- 
parent. He  asserts  the  rights  of  the  nation 
as  a  whole  in  such  a  way  that  the  individual 
trails  in  behind  him  without  a  quaver  of  fear 
or  a  compunction  of  conscience.  The  Presi- 
dent seems  to  know  the  road  and  results  bear 
testimony  to  the  fact.  In  the  shortest  pos- 
sible time  he  has  mobilized  the  greatest  na- 
89 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

tion  in  the  world  to  a  war  basis  of  such  mag- 
nitude that  its  martial  tread  extends  around 
the  world.  This  being  the  first  globe-gird- 
ling war  in  all  history,  who  can  say  that  any 
other  man  would  have  done  better — or  even 
so  well? 

Fortunately,  this  country  has  another 
man  who,  in  the  absence  of  our  present 
leader,  could  have  stirred  the  American  na- 
tion into  action  in  behalf  of  its  own  security. 
Hardly  need  it  be  said  that  this  man  is  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt.  His  distinguished  services 
in  the  past  would  have  proclaimed  him  the 
leader  in  such  a  vast  enterprise  had  the 
emergency  eocisted.  Taking  things  as  they 
are,  his  influence  has  been  of  tremendous  im- 
portance in  effecting  a  united  effort.  His 
willingness  to  go  to  the  front  himself  at  the 
head  of  a  Volunteer  Division  had  its  own 
90 


THE  BIG  FOUR 


weight  in  determining  the  whole  nation  that 
the  battle  was  ours  as  well  as  for  those  more 
adjacent  to  the  fighting  zone.  But,  to  start 
with  at  least,  this  is  a  young  man's  war,  and 
the  four  sons  of  Roosevelt  that  went  to  the 
front  constitute  an  ample  offering  from  this 
great  man  at  this  stage  of  affairs. 

If  Lloyd  George  were  a  citizen  of  these 
United  States,  I'd  give  him  a  seat  beside  the 
President  on  the  score  of  bull-dog  tenacity. 
And  I'd  give  him  a  look  in  on  Roosevelt  for 
brain  activity  and  physical  courage.  And  a 
seat  between  both  of  them  for  his  ability  to 
scorch  the  hides  of  the  recalcitrants. 

Three  big  men  these — Wilson,  Roosevelt, 
Lloyd  George.  They  sit  tight  for  what's 
right.  They  stand  exalted  in  the  estimation 
of  all  right-thinking  citizens  of  the  world, 
and  at  this  period  of  their  lives  are  peerless 
91 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

in  the  beneficence  of  their  influence  upon 
mankind. 

And  now  for  the  fourth  man  on  my  slate 
— stand  forth  General  Joffre!  Your  initia- 
tive at  the  first  battle  of  the  Marne  saved  the 
world  from  disaster.  You  had  one  chance  in 
a  hundred  and — you  saw  and  you  took  it. 
Your  victory  saved  civilization  a  colossal  set 
back.  Had  your  beloved  France  been  forced 
to  surrender,  the  dream  of  the  enemy  would 
have  been  transformed  into  fact  with  Mad 
Moloch  in  the  saddle  for  many  a  weary  year. 

Here's  to  the  Big  Four — long  may  they 
live  to  witness  the  gratitude  of  all  mankind ! 


92 


APPLYING  THE  RULE  OF 
REASON 


CHAPTER  XI 

APPLYING   THE  RULE   OF   REASON 

During  one  of  my  four-day  jumps  from 
coast  to  coast  recently,  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  a  very  affable  gentleman  in  his  early 
fifties.  He  had  the  advantage  of  me  in  age, 
having  passed  through  my  period  some 
twenty  years  back,  while  my  advantage  lay 
before  me,  yet  to  be  disposed  of.  He  was  a 
man  of  brains,  his  eyes  were  alert,  his  years 
rested  easily  upon  him.  I  marveled  at  his 
physical  activity,  also  his  mental  pep.  One 
thing  he  said  to  me  that  will  hang  in  my 
memory  the  rest  of  my  days. 

"I  am  guided  by  my  hindsight — you  at 
your  age,  by  your  foresight/'  said  he.    Then 
he  went  on  to  explain. 
95 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

At  my  age  he  had  ambitions  and  crowded 
on  the  steam.  At  forty  his  success  in  all 
ways  seemed  assured,  so  he  rushed  forward 
with  all  his  might.  At  forty-five  he  experi- 
enced a  period  of  physical  reaction,  which, 
in  the  light  of  his  present  knowledge,  was 
a  warning,  but  he  did  not  heed  it.  At 
forty-seven  he  was  a  physical  and  mental 
wreck. 

"I  had  failed  to  adjust  myself  to  my  fail- 
ing powers,"  said  he.  "I  took  on  greater  re- 
sponsibilities than  ever,  bent,  as  I  was,  on 
rounding  out  a  huge  success.  I  almost 
wound  up  in  my  grave." 

Now  here  was  a  chance  for  a  real  pointer 
from  a  man  of  intellectual  force,  so  I  urged 
him  to  go  on  through  the  sequence  of  events 
that  had  brought  him  back  to  such  superb 
health  and  spirits. 

96 


o 


o 
o 

tn 


THE  RULE  OF  REASON 

"It  took  me  three  years  to  get  by  that  ugly 
period  of  mental  and  physical  depression, 
the  early  part  of  which  I  spent  in  floundering 
around  from  one  expert  to  another,  traveling 
here  and  there  and  gaining  nothing  in  the 
way  of  respite,  to  say  nothing  of  cure.  Then 
suddenly,  I  stumbled  into  an  acquaintance 
with  a  new  adviser — a  life  insurance  agent!" 

I  broke  out  laughing  at  this  point  and  he 
joined  good-naturedly. 

"I  knew  you'd  be  amused,"  said  he. 
"Every  friend  I  have  jokes  on  the  subject. 
Nevertheless,"  he  continued,  "this  life  insur- 
ance agent  cured  me  and  I  haven't  taken  a 
spoonful  of  medicine  since  I  met  him.  Are 
you  interested  as  to  details?"  he  asked,  his 
eyes  twinkling,  his  cheeks  glowing  with 
health.  ( Courage,  friend  reader.  This  isn't 
the  beginning  of  the  novel  I  intend  to  write. ) 
97 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

"Up  to  my  ears,"  I  replied.  "I  am  inter- 
ested in  every  little  thing  that  happens." 

"Well,  it's  worth  your  while,"  he  contin- 
ued dryly,  "and  the  'cure'  may  serve  you  well 
some  day.  I  met  this  man  at  Long  Beach. 
I  was  sitting  under  a  large  umbrella-tent 
watching  the  bathers  and  feeling  like  "Sam 
Hill"  when  a  fine,  strapping  young  man 
came  dripping  out  of  the  waves  and  saun- 
tered up  near  me.  It  was  a  hot  day  and 
noting  my  ample  shade  he  came  over  and 
looked  down  at  me  good-naturedly.  I  would 
have  given  all  I  possessed  for  his  robust 
health  and  grand  physique.  I  motioned  to 
some  unoccupied  space  under  my  tent,  which 
he  accepted. 

"  'Not  sick,  I  hope?'  said  he  enquiringly. 

"  'Oh— no!'  I  blurted  back  at  him.  'I'm 
feeling  like  a  young  kitten.'  Then  I  glow- 
98 


THE  RULE   OF  REASON 

ered  at  him  ferociously.  That  made  him 
laugh,  and  he  was  a  good  hand  at  it.  I 
turned  away  from  him  in  disgust,  and  let  him 
do  his  worst.  Finally  he  calmed  down  and 
quite  soberly  remarked: 

"  'You're  not  sick — nothing  the  matter 
with  you!  I'll  write  a  policy  on  you  in  a 
week's  time  if  you'll  do  as  I  direct.  I  am  a 
life  insurance  agent  and  I  mean  what  I 
say.' 

"  'I'll  take  you  up,'  I  bellowed  in  reply, 
'and  I'll  bet  you  five  hundred  you  lose!'  I 
was  pretty  much  exasperated  at  the  fellow. 

"  'You're  on,'  said  he,  'but  I  won't  take 
your  five  hundred  if  I  win.  Let's  put  it  this 
way — if  you  are  well  enough  to  pass  a  rigid 
physical  examination  one  week  from  today 
will  you  let  me  write  you  up  for  a  fifty-thou- 
sand dollar  policy?' 

99 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

"  'I  will,  young  man,  and  you  can  start 
your  shell  game  at  your  pleasure.  But  I 
won't  stand  for  any  science  work  or  non- 
sense. If  you  bore  me  I  shall  tell  you  so  and 
that  means  all  bets  are  off  and  you  go  your 
way.' 

"  'We'll  begin  now,'  said  he  quietly,  but 
there  was  a  certain  air  of  confidence  in  his 
voice  that  made  me  wonder. 

"  'First,  I'm  going  to  tell  you  about  your- 
self,' he  went  on  to  say.  'You're  pretty  much 
like  an  engineer  who  went  along  forty  years 
without  an  accident  and  then  his  engine 
broke  down  and  both  went  to  the  ditch  in  a 
heap.  You've  been  successful  in  business, 
anyone  would  know  that  at  a  glance,  but 
you've  made  a  mess  of  your  physical  re- 
sources.'   I  nodded.     He  was  right  thus  far. 

"  'You  started  in  early  at  the  game,  your 
100 


A  one-minute  reverie 


THE  RULE   OF  REASON 

affairs  grew,  your  responsibilities  enlarged, 
and  you  worked  your  gray  matter  overtime 
without  stopping  to  oil  up  your  machinery. 
In  other  words,  you  have  never  played,  you 
haven't  laughed,  you  haven't  mingled  with 
people  in  a  social  way.  So  now  you  are 
pretty  near  ready  for  the  scrap  heap.  Am 
I  right?' 

"  'Uhuh — go  on,'  said  I. 

"  'You  once  came  pretty  near  asking  a  fine 
woman  to  marry  you,  but  something  came 
up  and  you  forgot  it.' 

"  'Yep — you're  right,  Mr.  Mind-Reader. 
Proceed,'  I  said,  'and  whatever  you  do  or 
say  don't  mind  my  feelings'  He  noted  the 
resentment  in  my  voice  I  presume,  for  he 
waited  some  time  before  going  on. 

'  'The  rest  is  easy — any  life  insurance 
agent  who  knows  his  business  could  take  up 
101 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

the  story  at  this  point  and  go  ahead  with  it.' 
He  laughed  good-naturedly  as  I  shrugged 
my  shoulders. 

"  'You're  an  agent,  go  on  with  the  case. 
What's  the  answer?  Let's  hear  all  of  the 
horrible  details.'  I  was  getting  peevish,  al- 
though the  fellow  had  my  interest  aroused. 

"  'Very  well.  Yours  is  the  old,  old  story. 
At  forty  big  things  loomed  ahead — your 
circle  enlarged.  You  gave  yourself  up  to 
big  plans.  They  progressed  famously  and 
at  forty-jive  you  were  a  rich  and  influential 
man.  But  there  were  a  lot  of  multi-million- 
aires that  had  you  skinned  on  size  of  pile  so 
you  took  the  plunge  and  went  after  them. 
You  never  gave  your  waning  physical  pow- 
ers a  thought  for  the  next  two  years,  and 
then  you  went  all  to  pieces — mentally.9 

"  'Mentally !  what  do  you  mean  when  you 
102 


THE  RULE   OF  REASON 

say  mentally?    Am  I  crazy?'    the  thought 
made  me  laugh. 

"  'Mentally,'  he  repeated  with  a  good- 
natured  smile.  'You  didn't  go  crazy — your 
brain  fagged.  It  wore  out  just  like  a  type- 
writer ribbon  wears  out — from  constant 
usage.  You've  been  thinking  ever  since  that 
your  physical  department  was  to  blame  for 
your  condition.  Nothing  of  the  sort.  You 
are  in  fine  physical  trim,  or  will  be  when  you 
take  your  mind  off  of  your  ailments  and  for- 
get about  the  old  deals.  Come  on,  let's  take 
a  dip,'  he  urged,  and  the  first  thing  I  knew 
he  was  dragging  me  along  into  the  brine. 

"To  make  a  long  story  short,  that  fellow 
got  me  to  laughing  and  playing  like  a  boy. 
We  violated  every  rule  of  health  that  had 
been  laid  down  by  doctors  and  in  five  days 
were  playing  golf  together." 
103 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

"So  he  won  his  bet  after  all,"  said  I  en- 
thusiastically, for  I  had  been  pulling  for  the 
agent  all  through  the  recital. 

"You  bet  he  did,  and  I  let  him  write  me  up 
for  a  half  million  instead  of  the  sum  he 
named." 

"Bully  for  you!"  I  replied.  "And  I'm 
going  to  remember  what  you  have  told  me." 

"That's  right — at  forty  begin  to  adjust 
yourself  to  the  next  period — forty-five.  Ar- 
riving there  safely,  begin  to  adjust  for  fifty. 
If  you  are  alive  then  you  should  go  on  for 
years,  always  keeping  in  mind  that  you  must 
readjust  every  fifth  year  after  you  cross  the 
forty  line." 

There  is  an  old  saying  that  you  can't  fool 

a  percentage  table,  and  that  was  what  the 

agent  went  by.     So,  if  our  lives  are  to  be 

made  worth  while  we  must  surely  observe  the 

104 


THE  RULE   OF  REASON 

simple  rules  governing  health  and  longevity. 
The  candle  won't  burn  at  both  ends  and 
stand  up  in  the  bargain.  At  forty  I'm  go- 
ing to  begin  to  adjust — I  believe  what  the 
agent  said. 


105 


THROUGH  DIFFICULTIES  TO 
THE  STARS 


c3 

O 


rt 


CHAPTER  XII 

THROUGH   DIFFICULTIES   TO   THE   STARS 

A  college  man  not  only  wants  his  sheep- 
skin when  the  great  day  comes,  but  his  letters 
as  well.  To  win  his  degree  he  must  con- 
tribute to  the  sum  of  human  knowledge — a 
man-sized  job — considering  the  large  store- 
house already  filled  to  overflowing.  But  the 
wreath  somehow  rests  easier  upon  the  brow 
of  learning  when  Ph.D.  or  Ph.B.  are  safely 
tucked  away  among  the  laurel  leaves. 

Only  the  trained  mind  that  delves  its  way 
successfully  through  college  or  university  is 
likely  to  add  to  existing  facts.  The  vast 
majority  only  succeed  in  developing  a  severe 
headache.      Their    intentions    were    good, 

but 

109 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 


It  isn't  so  much  the  doing  of  the  thing  as 
the  satisfaction  of  having  done  it. 

My  college  career  was  cut  short  before  my 
aspiration  to  excel  took  root.  If  I  missed 
anything  it  didn't  occur  to  me  then,  but  look- 
ing backward  it  has  been  only  natural  to 
regret  that  I  didn't  stick  it  out  and  try  for 
the  honors. 

But  there  are  many  other  ways  of  making 
life  worth  while.  Versatility  wins  more 
"heats"  these  days  than  originality.  Ideas 
are  worth  little  to  the  man  who  can't  put 
them  over  and  are  usually  to  be  bought  at 
bargain  prices.  Versatility  and  personal- 
ity hitched  tandem  are  certified  winners 
before  they  start  as  against  mere  origi- 
nality. 

It  is  not  given  to  all  men  to  make  a  success 
in  college.  But  there's  one  thing  certain, 
110 


THROUGH  DIFFICULTIES 

whatever  the  gain  coming  out  of  an  attempt 
is  that  much  to  the  good. 

College  life  in  itself,  with  all  its  joys  and 
stunts,  is  a  fierce  competitor  of  the  curricu- 
lum. Those  who  would  win  a  degree  must 
necessarily  bone  for  it,  never  for  an  instant 
straying  from  the  narrow  path  leading  to  the 
goal.  Likewise  it  behooves  them  to  keep 
both  eyes  glued  upon  a  lucky  star — for  every 
little  helps. 

Somewhere  in  the  "milky  way"  of  admoni- 
tion he  is  almost  sure  to  come  upon  that  fam- 
ous old  signboard,  which  reads  like  this : 

"  'Tis  naught  for  sun  to  shine!  Contrib- 
ute thy  share  to  the  oceans  of  human  knowl- 
edge— you  can  if  you  will." 

I  must  confess  that  this  bit  of  poetic  advice 
111 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

made  a  deep  impression  upon  me.  It  seemed 
to  urge  me  on  but  not  to  the  same  extent  that 
other  matters  urged  me  off.  It  is  a  good  lit- 
tle verse  just  the  same  and  worthy  of  a  hook 
in  anyone's  memory.  Aspiration,  persever- 
ance, never-give-up-the-ship-stick-to-itive- 
ness  is  the  way  the  prescription  reads  for 
those  who  would  plant  so  much  as  a  mustard 
seed  of  original  information  in  the  garden 
of  wisdom. 


112 


IN  ANSWER  TO  MANY  FRIENDS 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN  ANSWER  TO  MANY  FRIENDS 

As  I  have  stated  in  my  foreword,  this  book 
is  not  intended  to  adhere  to  any  fixed  plan. 
I  am  writing  on  subjects  covering  a  wide 
latitude,  many  of  which  have  been  sug- 
gested by  questions  out  of  letters  written  to 
me  by  friendly  spirits  who  like  my  picture 
plays.  Although  the  facts  relating  to  my 
theatrical  career  have  been  published  over 
and  over  again,  hardly  a  day  goes  by  without 
receipt  of  letters  on  that  subject. 

The  prevailing  notion  is  that  I  come  from 

a  theatrical  family  and  that  I  was  educated 

for  the  stage.    Nothing  is  further  from  the 

truth.      My    father    was    a    lawyer    with 

115 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

a  knowledge  of  the  drama  such  as  few  pro- 
fessionals have  had.  From  the  time  I  was 
able  to  eat  I  was  fed  on  Shakespeare.  When 
I  was  twelve  years  old  I  could  recite  the  prin- 
cipal speeches  in  most  of  that  gentleman's 
plays. 

My  article  in  Photoplay  some  months  ago 
gave  the  whole  story  in  fewest  words  and 
the  same  is  herewith  appended. 

My  dramatic  education  was  augmented  by 
frequent  contact  with  great  actors.  My 
father  was  a  friend  of  Mansfield,  Edwin 
Booth,  Stuart  Robson,  John  Drew,  Freder- 
ick Warde  and  other  famous  actors  who  were 
his  guests  whenever  they  visited  Denver. 

I  once  asked  Mr.  Mansfield  about  the  best 
way  to  prepare  for  the  stage  and  he  told  me 
that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  preparation 
116 


IN  ANSWER  TO  MANY  FRIENDS 

for  the  stage ;  but  that  there  were  certain  ac- 
complishments that  were  essential  to  great 
success.  These  included  a  knowledge  of 
fencing,  painting  and  the  French  language. 
Modesty  precludes  a  discussion  of  the  result 
of  following  that  advice.  Suffice  to  say,  I 
can  defend  myself  fairly  well  with  rapier  or 
broadsword,  I  can  tell  a  Corot  from  a  Ra- 
phael without  the  aid  of  artificial  devices, 
and  I  have  made  my  way  through  France 
without  being  arrested  or  going  hungry. 

Writers  who  give  advice  to  the  ambitious 
usually  cite  experiences  from  their  own  book 
of  lif e,  but  if  any  young  man  were  to  follow 
in  my  footsteps,  he'd  take  a  rather  devious 
path  to  the  stage  and  he'd  have  to  travel 
some. 

My  parents  were  far  from  convinced  that 
I  was  cut  out  for  the  stage,  so  I  was  sent  to 
117 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

the  Colorado  School  of  Mines  to  become  a 
mining  engineer.  But  there  didn't  seem  to 
be  any  room  in  my  head  for  calculus,  trigo- 
nometry and  such  things.  I  could  never 
master  higher  mathematics ;  therefore  I  could 
never  be  a  mining  engineer,  so  I  quit. 

Now  I'm  not;  desirous  of  inflicting  a  re- 
cital of  my  deficiencies  on  a  magnanimous 
public;  just  trying  to  show  that  one  may  fail 
in  many  things  before  finding  one's  niche  in 
life.  Certainly  I  failed  in  many  ventures, 
even  in  my  first  attack  on  the  American 
stage.  The  first  onslaught  didn't  even  make 
a  dent  on  that  historic  institution. 

Important  results  have  often  hinged  on 
trivial  things.  Tiny  causes  have  had  titanic 
effects.  If  a  certain  actor  hadn't  been  sent 
to  jail  in  Minnesota  a  dozen  and  a  half  years 
ago,  I  wouldn't  now  be  writing  this. 
118 


IN  ANSWER  TO  MANY  FRIENDS 

If  you  are  familiar  with  baseball — and  the 
chances  are  nine  in  ten  that  you  are — you 
know  the  meaning  of  the  expression,  "the 
breaks  of  the  game."  Given  two  baseball 
teams  of  equal  strength,  victory  will  invari- 
ably perch  on  the  banner  of  the  side  which 
"gets  the  breaks." 

It's  much  the  same  on  the  stage  or  in  busi- 
ness. Many  a  good  player  has  been  sedu- 
lously avoided  by  whatever  fate  it  is  that 
deals  out  fame,  because  the  "breaks"  have 
been  against  him.  Conversely,  many  a 
mediocre — or  even  worse  player,  has  tasted 
all  the  fruits  of  victory  because  he  "got  the 
breaks,"  as  they  say  on  the  diamond.  But 
don't  think  I'm  going  to  classify  myself,  be- 
cause I'm  not.  Give  it  any  name  you  like — 
even  modesty. 

Just  where  I  would  have  wound  up  had 
119 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

it  not  been  for  a  strange  quirk  of  fate,  of 
course  no  one  can  tell,  but  it  was  the  misfor- 
tune of  a  fellow  player  that  gave  me  the  big 
chance  I  was  looking  for.  Perhaps  it  was  an 
indiscretion  rather  than  a  misfortune.  But 
whatever  it  was,  the  victim  of  the  circum- 
stance found  himself  in  jail  on  the  day  we 
were  scheduled  to  treat  the  natives  of  Du- 
luth,  Minn.,  to  a  rendition  of  "Hamlet." 

Now  I'm  not  going  to  tell  you  how  the 
star  couldn't  show  up  and  I  stepped  into  the 
breach  and  soliloquoyed  all  over  the  stage  to 
the  thunderous  applause  of  the  Northmen; 
that  would  be  too  conventional.  Strangely 
enough  I  hadn't  set  my  sights  that  high. 
But  I  did  want  to  play  Laertes  and  my  col- 
league having  run  afoul  of  some  offense 
which  was  the  subject  of  a  chapter  of  the 
Minnesota  Penal  Code,  I  played  it  that 
night. 

120 


IN  ANSWER  TO  MANY  FRIENDS 

Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I  played 
the  part  so  well  ( ?)  that  it  only  took  about 
ten  years  more  to  become  a  star  on  Broad- 
way, the  ultimate  goal  of  all  who  choose  the 
way  of  the  footlights.  Seriously,  however, 
that  was  my  chance  and  I  took  full  advan- 
tage of  it. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  pleasure  I  get  out  of 
my  work  for  the  screen  is  contained  in  the 
daily  mail  bag.  Letters  come  from  every- 
where, not  only  this  country,  but  from  such 
far-off  places  as  Australia.  By  the  way,  I 
believe  they  are  more  enthusiastic  over  the 
screen  in  the  Antipodes  than  they  are  in  this 
country,  proportionately  speaking. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  questions  I  am 
asked  to  answer  is  that  relating  to  success  in 
athletics. 

It  may  sound  strange  to  some  of  those  who 
have  been  following  my  work  on  the  screen, 
121 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

but  I  was  a  failure  as  an  athlete.  In  college 
at  the  Colorado  School  of  Mines  I  did  not 
excel  in  any  particular  branch  of  sports.  I 
went  in  for  nearly  everything,  but  the  stu- 
dent body  never  wrote  or  sang  any  songs 
about  me.  I  never  came  up  in  the  ninth  with 
the  score  three  to  nothing  against  us,  with 
three  men  on  base,  and  put  the  ball  over  the 
fence.  I  never  even  ran  the  length  of  the 
field  with  the  pigskin  and  scored  the  winning 
touchdown  with  only  fifteen  seconds  of  play 
left. 

When  I  went  to  Harvard  later  I  still  was 
active  in  athletics,  but  while  just  about  able 
to  get  by  in  most  of  the  games,  I  never  got 
the  spotlight  in  any  specific  instances.  It 
might  have  been  different  had  I  remained, 
but  the  call  of  the  footlights  was  too  insistent. 

There  is  one  rule  which  every  athlete  must 
123 


IN  ANSWER  TO  MANY  FRIENDS 

follow  to  be  successful.  Be  clean  in  mind 
and  body.  For  a  starter,  I  know  of  no  bet- 
ter advice. 

I  am  not  much  given  to  preaching,  but  if 
I  ever  took  it  up  as  a  vocation,  I  would 
preach  cleanliness  first  and  most. 

The  boy  who  wishes  to  get  to  the  front  in 
athletics  must  adopt  a  program  of  mental 
and  bodily  cleanliness. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  foe  to  athletic  suc- 
cess, among  young  college  men  is  strong 
drink.  Personally  I  have  never  tasted  liquor 
of  any  sort. 

It  was  my  mother's  influence  that  was  re- 
sponsible for  that,  as  I  promised  her  when 
I  was  eight  years  old  that  I  would  never 
drink.  I  might  state,  parenthetically  and 
without  violating  a  confidence,  that  my  fam- 
ily tree  had  several  decorations  consisting  of 
123 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

ambitious  men  who  had  sought  valiantly,  if 
futilely,  to  decrease  the  visible  supply  of  li- 
quor. I  do  not  wish  to  take  a  great  amount 
of  credit  for  my  abstention.  Really,  more 
credit  is  due  to  a  person  who  has  fallen  under 
its  influence  and  fought  his  way  out;  but  I 
know  that  the  keeping  of  my  promise  to  my 
mother  has  had  a  powerful  effect  on  my  life 
and  my  career. 


124 


THINGS  THAT  MONEY  WON'T 
BUY 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THINGS   THAT   MONEY   WON'T   BUY 

Everything  depends  on  something  else. 
There  is  no  such  thing  as  absolute  independ- 
ence, and  those  who  think  differently  are 
simply  asleep  at  the  switch.  Of  all  things 
sought  for  in  this  world  happiness  stands 
first,  and  to  be  sure  of  this  estatic  state  of  be- 
ing the  common  mistake  is  made  in  selecting 
the  path  supposed  to  lead  most  directly 
thereto. 

Wealth — choice  No.  1.  The  common  er- 
ror of  the  human  family. 

Wealth  is  the  great  destroyer  of  hap- 
piness, for  it  breeds  discontent  and  worry. 
In  the  first  place  comes  the  worry  of  accum- 
127 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

ulating  wealth  and  once  possessed  of  it  comes 
the  worry  of  hanging  on  to  it.  It  is  but  a 
step  from  worry  to  discontent. 

But  take  away  the  doubt,  for  the  sake  of 
argument,  and  analyze  wealth  from  the 
standpoint  of  possession.  Now  that  we  have 
wealth  let's  go  ahead  and  enjoy  it.  Let  us 
make  of  our  lives  an  elysian  dream.  All 
right,  here  goes. 

But  first,  just  what  is  an  elysian  dream? 
Answer — an  elysian  dream  is  most  quickly 
defined  by  the  word  naught.  It  is  a  figure 
of  speech  and  only  useful  in  poetic  flights — 
no  transfers  issued.  The  iridescent  dream 
is  the  nearest  high-sounding  vagary  that  can 
be  bought  for  cash  and  that  has  a  rainbow 
finish.    It  soon  fades  and  is  lost  from  view. 

So  we  come  quickly  back  to  the  proposi- 
tion that  wealth,  while  useful  to  the  stomach 
128 


Alone  with  the  Grand  Canvon 


THINGS  MONEY  WONT  BUY 

and  the  back,  has  no  purchasing  power  with 
the  soul.  Happiness  is  a  soul  quality — how 
to  reach  it  is  a  quandary. 

Of  things  earthly  we  only  require  a  cer- 
tain amount;  an  overplus  takes  away  zest. 
The  sport  of  the  hunt  is  no  more,  when  the 
quarry  is  tied  up  by  the  heels.  Anticipa- 
tions are  happier  far  than  realizations* 
When  we  aspired  we  looked  forward,  and 
up.  When  we  indulged  to  the  full  our  eyes 
fell  to  the  ground. 

"The  fun  of  gettin'  money  is  the  gettin* 
of  it,  son"  This  line  is  the  wind-up  of  a 
wild  Western  solo  one  of  the  boys  in  camp 
used  to  sing  with  banjo  accompaniment. 
That  is  all  I  remember  of  the  song.  It  struck 
me  as  funny  and  also  as  being  gospel  truth. 
After  having  satiated  one's  utmost  desires, 
every  luxury  seems  trivial  and  vain.  Antici- 
129 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

pation,  which  is  a  species  of  joy,  no  longer 
dwells  in  the  heart.  Thereafter  we  hunger 
for  the  unattainable — contentment.  Very 
seldom  do  we  change  our  ways  when  we  have 
waxed  fat  and  soft — and  money  won't  buy 
everything.  Note  the  "if"  in  old  Aunt  Di- 
nah's Camp  Meeting  ditty: — 

"If  Heaven  was  a  place  that  money  could 
buy 
The  rich  would  live  and  the  po'r  would 
die; " 

And  there  we  are,  blockaded  with  a  meas- 
ley  "if."  There  are  things  that  money  won't 
t>uy — for  instance,  a  good  night's  sleep.  Our 
"open  sesame"  to  the  higher  level  is  via  the 
Self -Denial  line.  Money  won't  buy  a  ticket 
— only  the  good  and  faithful  servant  may 
pass  through  the  turnstile. 
130 


THE  BOY  ACROSS  THE  SEA 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   BOY   ACROSS   THE   SEA 

Paraphrasing  a  well-known  song  to  fit  a 
new  emergency  one  of  my  good  friends,  on 
learning  the  title  of  my  new  book,  sends  the 
following  lines  which  he  hopes  may  find  a 
place  in  Making  Life  Worth  While.  And 
so  they  shall,  with  many,  many  thanks  to  the 
contributor. 

Keep  the  home  fires  burning, 

For  our  boy  across  the  sea, 

Then  he'll  know,  when  he  comes  home 

Things  are  as  he  hoped  they'd  be. 

Loving  hearts  are  yearning, 
Eager  eyes  grow  dim, 
Many  are  there  bowed  down  in  prayer — 
Hoping — longing — calling  for  him. 
133 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

There  is  a  wonderful  pathos  in  this  lyric. 
Al  Jolson,  in  a  serious  moment,  could  put 
enough  soul  stirring  melody  in  the  last  line 
to  bring  an  audience  to  its  feet.  And 
wouldn't  "Rodey"  make  a  Billy  Sunday 
meeting  fairly  ring  with  it? 

There  is  more  than  sentiment  in  the  verse 
quoted — there  is  duty,  loyalty,  fidelity.  Our 
boys  have  a  right  to  expect  that  nothing  un- 
toward shall  be  allowed  to  disturb  their  dear 
ones  while  they  are  absent,  and  that  what- 
ever the  misfortune  to  themselves  over  there, 
the  welcome  home  will  be  whole-hearted  and 
genuine. 

If  ever  there  was  need  of  cheerful  sym- 
pathy, the  genuine  article,  it  should  come 
forth  now  for  distribution  among  the  homes 
from  which  husband,  son,  or  brother  has  gone 
forward  in  defense  of  civilization.  One  need 
not  fear  to  show  an  interest,  which  is  heart- 
134 


THE  BOY  ACROSS   THE   SEA 

felt,  to  any  wife,  mother,  father,  or  other 
relatives  of  an  American  soldier.  It  is  a 
relief  to  them  to  share  their  hopes  and  fears 
with  friendly  neighbors.  They  are  brave  as 
they  never  were  before.  They  are  fortified 
by  the  spirit  of  the  manly  fellow  who  went 
forth  to  war  through  the  very  gate  you  lean 
upon  as  they  tell  what  they  know. 

One  very  dear  mother,  much  too  young  in 
appearance  to  suggest  the  idea  of  having  sent 
a  son  to  the  front,  told  me  as  she  smiled 
through  tears  that  he  had  brought  down 
two  in  a  single  action,  but  unfortunately  was 
forced  to  land  on  enemy  soil  and  was  made 
a  prisoner. 

"I  hope  they  don't  starve  him,"  said  she 
sweetly,  "nor  treat  him  cruelly.  He  is  so 
gentle  and  kindly  himself.  I  believe  they 
will  be  good  to  him." 

"Of  course  they  will,"  said  I,  joining  my 
135 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

hope  with  her  own  and  wishing  with  all  my 
might  that  I  could  really  share  in  her  belief. 
Then  her  wistful  look  changed  into  one  of 
confident  expectancy.  I  had  added  to  her 
store  of  hopefulness  and  left  her  laughing 
heartily  at  my  prophecy  that  her  boy  would 
probably  "kidnap  his  guard  some  night  and 
ride  him  back  to  camp." 

No  doubt  about  her  keeping  the  home  fires 
burning,  nor  of  the  strong  heart  within  her 
— "hoping,  longing,  calling  for  him" 


136 


SUPERIOR— SUPERIORITY- 
SUPER 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SUPERIOR — SUPERIORITY — SUPER 

This  word  super  is  getting  its  name  in  the 
papers  every  day  in  the  week.  The  super- 
human effort  required  to  keep  things  moving 
along  toward  the  final  triumph  has  needed 
just  such  expressive  terms.  It  is  a  last  word 
in  inspiration — big,  effective — over  and  be- 
yond— and  it  fits  the  job  we're  engaged  in 
exactly  from  super-dreadnaught  to  super- 
abundance of  will-power,  mainstrength,  and 
get  there. 

When  our  boys  went  over  and  lined  up 

alongside  their  war-worn  Allies,  the  whole 

situation  changed.    The  pep  and  snap  they 

brought  along  completely  banished  the  wan- 

189 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

ing  spirit  which,  nevertheless,  still  held  in 
check  a  relentless  and  overpowering  foe.  No 
tonic  is  there  so  productive  of  renewed  en- 
ergy as  the  entrance  of  a  friend  who  quietly 
takes  his  place  by  one's  side. 

To  merely  say  that  the  boys  in  khaki  have 
won  the  hearts  of  their  comrades  over  there  is 
inadequate.  They  have  sealed  a  compact 
that  is  destined  to  shape  the  orderly  course  of 
the  whole  world  for  a  century  to  come. 
Their  induction  was  not  of  the  "make  way 
for  the  conquering  heroes"  kind.  Nothing 
like  that — more  of  the  fashion  of  those  who 
are  iurdy  and  quietly  take  the  places  re- 
served for  them. 

Once  in  the  ranks,  comradeship  was  a  mat- 
ter of  course.  No  one  could  hold  out  against 
American  good  nature.  No  chance  that 
these  new  soldiers  ranging  themselves  along- 
140 


SUPERIOR— SUPERIORITY— 

side  of  veterans  would  resort  to  grandstand 
play.  There  would  be  no  chasing  after  the 
medal.  If  it  came,  well  and  good,  but  the 
job  in  hand  would  be  the  first  consideration 
— and  in  that  respect  the  men  of  the  Allied 
armies  and  navies  are  well  met. 

To  my  way  of  thinking  the  every-day  ath- 
letic sports  of  the  English-speaking  races 
make  for  a  gallant  hardihood.  No  braver 
are  they,  but  hardier  perhaps,  and  more  agile 
than  their  Latin  brother-in-arms  because 
of  their  all-of-the-year-round  season  of  out- 
of-door  recreation.  Baseball,  golf,  hockey, 
polo,  motor-boating,  rowing,  skiing,  foot- 
ball, riding  to  hounds  and  what  not,  even 
down  to  the  game  of  marbles,  which,  after 
all,  is  out-of-door  exercise  for  the  small 
boy. 

Take  football,  for  instance.  If  medals  of 
141 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 


honor  were  given  out  for  daring  physical  ac- 
tion and  bravery  that  occurs  on  the  "grid- 
irons" of  America,  England,  Canada  and 
Australia  each  year  even  the  Kaiser's  Iron 
Cross  factory  would  be  unable  to  supply  the 
demand.  In  other  words,  out-of-door  sports 
make  for  alertness  of  mind  and  body.  In 
this  respect  they  differ  from  the  labor  of  the 
soil  which,  while  hardening  and  muscle-mak- 
ing, is  inspiriting  from  lack  of  competitive 
prowess  with  a  goal  in  sight  to  work  for. 

It  is  fine  to  read  about  our  boys  over  there. 
They  have  taken  hold  of  their  end  of  the  big 
job  without  splurge  or  pompous  bearing. 
They  have  aroused  no  jealousies,  no  heart- 
burnings through  competitive  ambitions — 
they  go  where  sent.  Their  inborn  initiative 
spurs  them  on  to  deeds  that  terminate  to 
victories  they  least  expect.  It  is  not  a  part 
of  their  dispositions  to  "grab  all"  for  honors. 
142 


SUPERIOR— SUPERIORITY— 

They  will  give  rather  than  take  from  the 
credit  of  their  comrades  in  arms.  The  old 
charge  of  American  brag  will  fall  of  its  own 
weight  on  the  battlefields  of  France.  To  ex- 
cel is  an  American  trait  no  less  and  no  more 
than  their  brothers  in  the  field  of  action. 
One  of  the  blessings  that  must  surely  follow 
in  the  wake  of  the  great  slaughter  will  be  the 
common  understanding  that  every  Allied  sol- 
dier did  his  duty  like  a  man. 

Since  writing  this  chapter,  I  came  across 
an  editorial  in  the  New  York  Evening  Tele- 
gram, which  backs  up  my  theory  exactly.  It 
reads  as  follows: 

"American  soldiers  and  sailors  have  won 
the  hearts  of  England  and  France.  'I  like 
their  keenness,'  said  a  pain-racked  British 
sergeant  through  his  bandages.  'It's  good 
to  be  fresh  and  alive  to  every  little  happen- 
ing for  you  and  your  boys  who  can  plunge 
143 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

into  hades  for  the  first  time  and  keep  their 
heads.  You  may  be  sure  they  will  go  a  long 
way. 

At  Hamel,  where  the  Americans  went  in 
with  the  Australians,  Lucien  and  'Arry  and 
Paul  and  Tony  and  Pat  and  Izzy  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  one  loyally  helping  the 
other.  The  commander-in-chief  of  the  An- 
zacs,  Lieutenant- General  Sir  John  Monash, 
is  a  Jew.  Hovering  over  our  fighters  were 
an  aviator  from  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. ;  one  from 
New  York  and  another  from  Nogales,  Ariz. 

Of  a  surety,  as  Kipling  sang: — 

"For  there  is  neither  East  nor  West, 

Border  nor  breed  nor  birth, 
When  two  strong  men  stand  face  to  face. 
Though  they  came  from  the  ends  of  the 
earth." 

144 


:In  tunc  with  the  Infinite" 


WHEN  THE  BOYS  COME  HOME 


CHAPTER  XVII 

WHEN  THE  BOYS  COME  HOME 

Mighty  powers  are  at  work  in  the  world 
today.  Mighty  changes  are  taking  place 
within  the  depths  of  our  natures.  We  are 
not  satisfied  with  the  old  order  of  things  that 
have  trailed  along  with  our  opulent  years. 
The  great  holocaust  of  war  has  sobered  our 
senses  and  we  find  ourselves  taking  stock  of 
the  past  with  particular  reference  to  the  fu- 
ture— the  near  future  we  hope. 

We  are  thinking  of  the  day  when  the  boys 
will  come  back  home  and  we  have  it  in  mind 
to  tidy  up  considerably  by  the  time  they  be- 
gin to  arrive.  We  believe  they  will  approve 
of  our  work,  and  unless  they  do  we  may  as 
147 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

well  look  the  situation  squarely  in  the  face — 
they'll  do  some  cleaning  up  on  their  own  ac- 
count.   They'll  finish  the  job. 

The  order  of  the  day  is  change.  There 
are  old,  worn-out  labels  that  must  give  place 
to  new  ones,  particularly  one  which  has  out- 
lived its  usefulness,  entitled — the  inherent 
rights  of  man.  It  needs  revising.  Its  by- 
laws  must  be  revamped,  recast  along  modern 
lines  in  order  that  liberty  shall  not  be  mis- 
taken for  license  nor  any  man  claim  immun- 
ity on  the  assumption  that  because  this  is  a 
free  country  he  may  do  as  he  may  please. 

When  the  boys  come  home  they  are  going 
to  ask  for  an  accounting.  They  will  want  to 
take  more  than  just  a  peep  at  our  steward- 
ship. Where  are  the  loafers  hanging  out? 
They'll  ask  us  that.  And  they'll  ask  about 
the  dives  and  dens  and  thief-making  sports 
148 


WHEN  THE  BOYS  COME  HOME 

that  boldly  flaunted  themselves  in  the  days 
before  the  great  change, 

A  lot  of  the  boys  won't  come  home. 
They'll  be  asleep,  over  there,  but  the  big  ma- 
jority will  return  and  they  will  be  men  of 
brawn — resolute  and  brave.  They  will  be- 
gin at  once  to  ask  questions  that  will  make 
some  of  us  wince,  and  they  are  going  to  insist 
upon  truthful  answers.  "What  about  the 
profiteers?"  They're  going  to  insist  on 
knowing  all  about  these  fellows.  They  will 
seek  them  out  and  compel  them  to  disgorge 
their  ill-gotten  gains — profits  taken  from  the 
families  of  these  men  who  crossed  the  seas  to 
rid  the  world  of  just  such  a  piratical  crew. 

And  what  about  booze — have  we  given 

that  traffic  the  final  punch?     If  it  wasn't 

good  for  soldiers  to  fight  on  how  could  it  be 

useful  in  civil  life?     These  are  questions 

149 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

we've  got  to  answer  when  the  boys  come 
home  and  it  looks  as  though  we  were  going 
to  be  able  to  give  a  good  account  of  our- 
selves— thanks  to  the  government. 

Things  are  changing — many  things  have 
already  changed.  The  big  crucial  tests  upon 
our  national  conscience  are  coming  to  a  head. 
Our  government  is  far-seeing  and  alert. 
Abuses  still  exist,  but  the  eyes  of  able  men 
are  upon  them.  A  government  that  is  ca- 
pable of  sending  millions  of  men  under  prime 
conditions  to  foreign  lands  in  behalf  of  our 
most  precious  rights  need  not  be  expected 
to  fall  down  on  the  task  of  cleaning  things 
up  at  home  while  they  are  away.  The  whole 
world  is  to  be  made  safe  and  clean,  including 
the  U.  S.  A. 


1.50 


REGENERATION 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


REGENERATION 


When  the  great  war  broke  upon  an  un- 
suspecting brotherhood  of  fellow  humans, 
we  were,  as  a  nation,  from  prosperity  and 
self-indulgence,  perilously  near  the  brink  of 
disaster.  It  is  only  in  the  light  of  events  and 
a  backward  glance  toward  the  precipice 
which  had  yawned  for  us  that  we  may  now 
indulge  in  a  certain  sort  of  solemn  consola- 
tion. At  least,  we  have  been  saved  from  a 
worse  fate,  one  that  has  bells  on  its  toes — our 
national  intellect  was  on  the  wane;  likewise 
our  national  conscience.  But  we  were  not 
alone — all  nations  were  afflicted,  ours  no 
more  than  the  rest,  but  we  were  the  younger 
and  more  opulent. 

153 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

Regeneration  or  degeneracy?  That  was 
the  uppermost  question  in  the  public  mind 
when  the  king  of  Berlin  turned  loose  his  hosts 
of  degeneracy,  thereby  bringing  back  to  its 
sober  senses  the  brain  power  of  civilized  man- 
kind.   And  with  it  came  the  brawn. 

Now  when  brain  and  brawn  hook  up  to- 
gether the  danger  of  getting  stuck  in  the 
mire  is  well  nigh  impossible.  Men  who  had 
gone  sordid  while  amassing  great  fortunes 
and  looked  on  passively  while  their  families 
cut  the  swath  to  which  wealth  and  position 
seemed  to  entitle  them,  jumped  to  their  feet 
with  a  new  light  in  their  eyes,  while  men  just 
entering  upon  the  threshold  of  success  stood 
in  awe  of  consequences  beyond  their  control. 
But  the  main  thing  to  happen  was  that  the 
world  turned  its  face  toward  the  great  in- 
truder and,  thereby,  its  heels  toward  the  fatal 
154 


REGENERATION 


abyss  into  which  millions  would  have  fallen 
from  sheer  crowding  from  behind. 

We  had  been  following  the  modern  tend- 
ency and  had  gone  the  limit  in  quest  of  that 
will-o'-the-wisp  called  pleasure — which  we 
never  quite  found.  We  nearly  did,  or 
thought  we  surely  would,  but  in  our  hot  pur- 
suit we  heard  the  blast  of  a  war  trumpet 
and  we  stopped  in  our  tracks! 

The  weakest  link  in  the  chain  of  self -grati- 
fication had  broken — the  War  Lord  and  his 
hosts  had  gone  stark  mad!  Now  was  the 
time  for  the  cohorts  of  insanity  to  wreak  ven- 
geance upon  the  joy-seeking,  peace-loving 
people  of  the  world.  We  who  were  on  the 
brink  of  another  kind  of  pitfall — too  much 
opulence — paused  in  awe  and  horror  to 
gaze  upon  the  oncoming  hords.  And  right 
here  began  the  regeneration  of  mankind. 
155 


MAKING  LIFE  WORTH  WHILE 

No  one,  taking  the  larger  view  of  the 
world's  greatest  catastrophe  since  the  flood, 
will  hesitate  to  believe  that,  even  unto  its 
most  horrible  detail,  it  represents  the  work- 
ing out  of  some  great  plan.  The  world  was 
far  better  off  after  the  flood,  for  when  the 
waters  receded  it  was  found  that  the  valleys 
had  been  enriched  by  the  washings  from  the 
mountain-sides  and  the  hills.  A  new  vir- 
ginity had  entered  into  the  soil,  the  future 
value  of  which,  to  mankind,  being  wholly 
beyond  computation. 

And  so  in  the  final  reckoning  this  tre- 
mendous letting  of  blood  will  have  long  since 
shed  light  upon  its  true  significance.  To-day 
we  estimate  it  upon  the  basis  of  its  horrors, 
its  seeming  uselessness,  the  blight  of  its  trail 
across  our  own  dooryards.  But  we've  all 
heard  of  the  fungus  growth  which  blights  the 
156 


REGENERATION 


progress  of  plants  and  trees;  and  parasites 
which  destroy  the  grains  of  the  field,  bring- 
ing famine  upon  the  population.  In  the 
present  case  the  tentacles  of  the  great  Octo- 
pus of  Degeneracy  took  such  strangling  hold 
upon  the  body  politic  that  half  a  world  seems 
doomed  to  die  that  the  other  half  may  live 
in  aid  of  the  great  plan  of  the  universe.  In 
the  meantime,  no  life  is  worth  while  that 
takes  no  part  in  the  titanic  struggle,  which 
must  go  on  and  on  until,  in  the  words  of  our 
leader,  "the  world  is  made  safe  for  democ- 
racy/' 


157 


A  Series  of  Six 
Inspirational  Books 

By  DOUGLAS  FAIRBANKS 

— containing  especially  chosen  chapters  from 
his  famous  book  "Laugh  and  Live."  Each 
booklet  contains  32  pages,  printed  on  paper 
of  extra  fine  quality ;  also  a  special  picture  of 
the  author  never  before  produced. 

LIST  OF  TITLES 

1.  Whistle  and  Hoe — Sing  as  We  Go 

2.  Taking  Stock  of  Ourselves 

3.  Initiation  and  Self -Reliance 

4.  Assuming  Responsibilities 

5.  Profiting  by  Experience 

6.  Wedlock  in  Time 

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